Drown the Lovers
by LittleDarlingXOX
Summary: The Seelie Queen is out for blood and Meliorn isn't the only one being punished for his dealings with Shadowhunters. Alec's loyalty to the Clave has earned him the unwanted attention of the Seelie Court. Now labeled as their enemy by the Seelie Queen, Alec must fight against ancient magic to stay in the mortal world with those he loves. But with an entire court looking to drag him
1. Chapter 1

Alec crouched down and examined the body of the mundane laid out on the pavement. He lifted the edge of the man's jacket and grimaced at the demon ichor that oozed from the fatal wound to his chest.

He tried to breath through his mouth as the rotting smell hit him. "The heart's missing. Looks like the demon ripped it clean from of his chest."

"You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?"

Alec glanced up at Jace where he leaned against the bricks of the alley wall, twirling a dagger by its hilt between two of his fingers.

"Jace, we're standing over the dead body of a mundane who smells like he was dragged through the sewers. Why in the world would I be enjoying this right now?"

Jace shrugged. "Because the murder of a mundane by a demon is dangerous enough to warrant having the head of the institute back in the field. C'mon, you know you miss going on hunts together."

Alec rolled his eyes. "A man is dead, Jace. Please, just _try_ to show a little decency."

"That's not an answer."

Alec glared at him. "Are you just going to stand there annoying me or are you going to help me?"

Jace threw up his arms. "I _did_ help you! I was the one that killed the demon and called you out here in the first place."

"Yeah, well now you're going to be the one that gets the gurney so we can bring him back to the institute."

Alec waved him out towards the mouth of the alleyway where the remnants of a chain link fence once stood. "Go."

Jace huffed and shoved off the wall. "Being head of the institute is making you pissy, Alec. I pity Magnus."

Alec glared at him, but his parabatai had already turned his back on him and was walking away.

Alec pushed himself onto his feet. A dog yowled a few blocks away. The sound sent a shiver down his spine as he peeled the medical gloves off of his hands and tossed them into the dumpster next to him.

"Alec!"

" _What?_ You literally weren't even gone for a minute. What could possibly—"

Alec turned to see Jace sprinting across the street towards him. Alec's hand went to the seraph blade at his hip, ready to draw it at the first sign of danger.

The howling started up again, but it was more than just one dog this time. It gave Alec a horrible feeling in his gut.

"Alec, it's the wild hunt!"

Alec caught him as Jace practically barreled into him. Jace tried to pull him along but Alec planted his feet and grasped Jace by the shoulders. "Do be ridiculous, the wild hunt only goes after mundanes. By law they have no right to attack shadowhunters—"

A low growl emanated from behind them. Alec turned to see a black spectral dog treading slowly towards them. It's eyes glowed yellow as it entered the gloom of the alleyway where they stood.

Alec took a step back and placed his hand back on the seraph blade at his hip. "Is that—"

"A bloodthirsty hellhound staring directly at us?" Jace's hand tightened on his arm until Alec could feel his nails through his shirt. "Yeah."

The hellhound crouched low to the ground with it's teeth bared and hackles raised.

"That's… not possible. Hellhounds don't attack nephilim."

"Not unless they're order to." Jace's murmured.

Alec met Jace's eyes nervously. They both knew what the hellhounds preceded and two shadowhunters were no match for a pack of faeries, especially not faeries as skilled in battle as those of the Wild Hunt.

Another growl joined the first as a new hellhound stepped out from behind its brother.

"Run!" Jace dragged him away from the dead mundane and further into the darkness of the alleyway. They pounded the pavement, dodging fallen trash cans and dashing around corners.

The alleyway opened up into a courtyard, walls thickly covered with ivy and graffiti alike.

Without sparing a moment, Jace scaled the cement wall on their left. Alec fisted his hands in the thick tangle of ivy and scrambled over the other side after him. He landed harshly on a corroded metal patio table that clattered to the pavement as Alec rolled off of it, landing with his boots on the ground.

Jace was in the process of pulling Alec up onto the ledge of the second wall when they realized the sounds of pursuit weren't slowing. Alec panting, risked a look back over his shoulder just in time to see the hounds run straight _through_ the wall across the courtyard, passing through it like it was nothing more than thin air.

"It just had to be _spectral_ hound!"

More howls filled the air.

They jumped from the ledge.

Jace and Alec came out onto a stretch of chinese restaurants and specialty shops, shuttered tight for the night. A flash of yellow to their left told Alec all he needed to know. "This way!"

They lurched to the right. Mundanes parted unconsciously before them as they raced up the sidewalk. Alec's lungs burned with exertion and he could feel the endurance rune on his chest burning fiercely.

"Left!" shouted Jace. "They're trying to flank us."

A taxi swerved and blared its horn as they lurched across the crowded road and into the nearest alleyway.

At the end of the alley a fire escape sat with its ladder pulled down. Alec knew without asking that they were both thinking the same thing. Higher ground would be the only thing that stopped them from becoming hellhound jerky. They'd just have to risk finding out how high hellhounds could jump.

"You ready?" Jace's eyes were nailed to the bottom rung of the ladder as they drew closer. "On three… one—"

Alec grabbed Jace by the back of his shirt so suddenly that the skidding stop he'd originally intended turned into a full out slide across the pavement. Jace cried out at the raw pain in his bleeding forearms. Alec was feeling it too, they'd definitely scraped away a layer of skin on that pavement.

" _Ah_ — Why the _hell_ would you— " Jace rolled onto his hands and knees. His attempt to stand was stopped with a blade at his neck.

"Faeries." grunted Alec as he eyed the one standing before him, blade in hand. "That's why."

Alec's fingers stretched discretely for the dagger in his boot. Teeth snapped loud in Alec's ear and he didn't dare risk turning his head to find out exactly how close. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the other hellhounds tightening rank in a half circle around him and Jace.

Alec flattened his hand against the black top and abandoned the idea of arming himself all together.

The faerie knight in front of Alec smiled. Alec took in his angular face and studded leather armour. He couldn't place his face but he didn't bare the common floral embellishments of the Seelie court. "Wise decision, Alexander."

Jace stood up fast, shoving aside the blade leveled at him. The other faerie flicked it back against his neck the moment he had his feet under him.

Jace spared him an irritated glance, but returned his attention to the faerie knight in front of Alec. "How do you know his name?"

"I'm sorry, is it some well kept secret?"

"It should be to a member of the Unseelie court." said Jace. "Your people don't associate with other members of the shadow world."

"I'm not of the Unseelie Court. I wander where I please. Serving any court that requires my services."

A solitary faerie. Like lone wolves, it wasn't often that you saw one calling such blatant attention to themselves. Alec, knew however, that unlike lone wolves, any faerie that could survive outside of a court was ten times more dangerous than their regular kin.

"Then who are you?" asked Alec. "And what do you want from us?"

The faerie sheathed the dagger he was holding and crouched down until he was almost at Alec's eye level. In a relaxed manner he tucked a stray section of his hair behind his ear.

Alec stared into his dark brown eyes and didn't feel the least bit comforted when he smiled again. The hint of a nasty smirk laid behind his every expression. In him, Alec sensed the worst of faerie mischievousness.

"My name's Cillian, and as for what I want from you… nothing yet. The Seelie Queen would have it otherwise, but for now I simply wanted to set eyes on you."

He braced his hands on his knees and pushed onto his feet.

"Call off your hounds, Gabe. We're leaving."

The other faerie whistled a quick sharp tone and the hounds darted around them. It was only when they were alone in the alley that Jace finally moved to help Alec to his feet. His offered hand didn't release Alec after he had both feet on the ground, however.

"Alec, what the hell was that all about?"

Alec looked off to where they faeries had gone. "I don't know, but I have a feeling we're going to find out sooner rather than later."


	2. Chapter 2

Alec shifted against the cold breeze that cut through the trees behind him. He pulled his eyes away from the reflective surface of the pond and looked around him for one last time. He didn't expect there to be any mundanes out for a walk in central park this late at night unless they were looking to get attacked, or worse, found by a lone downworlder or demon. The park was a common hunting ground for all people of the Shadow World.

Alec pulled his jacket off and laid it down on the wet grass. He slid his seraph blade, bow, and quiver free of his person and bundled them in his jacket. The last to go was his phone. He fingered it quietly, wondering for the hundredth time if he should send a text to Magnus or his siblings… just in case.

As with the other times, he discarded the thought. If he told them what he was doing they would only come after him and ruin any chance he might have had. They were all more than a little nervous about what had transpired a day ago, but they had no more answers than Alec did. Alec slipped the phone into the front pocket of his bundled jacket.

He turned back to assess the pond's reflection. The moon was almost in position now. The gateway would be open in a few minutes.

Alec waded into the water, sinking his teeth deep into his lower lip at the icy chill as the murky water crawling up his legs. His breath fogged the air in front of him. It was stupid of him to try to enter the fey realm as the weather turned colder. He bit off a pained gasp as the icy water hit his torso. Pushing his boots against the muddy, sucking, bottom of the pond, Alec forced himself to swim forward and deeper towards the center of the pond. By the time Alec made it to where the moon's image reflected on the water, his breathing was no more than shuddering gasps that frosted the air in front of him.

Alec pushed his numb limbs in circles, treading water to keep himself afloat as the weight of his wet clothes tried to pull him under the surface.

"C'mon," Alec hissed. " _C'mon._ "

He breathed a sigh of relief when the water around him started to shimmer and glow with a silver light. The drop as the entrance opened under him came so suddenly that Alec was dragged under before he had a chance to hold his breath.

He choked on the dark water as an iron grip fastened onto him. It felt like two hands grasping his ankles, pulling him down, _down_ , to the pond floor and then even further.

Gravity returned all at once. Alec hit the packed earth shoulder first. He wheezed as crisp air filled his lungs again, twisting onto his side as he hacked up dirty pond water.

There was the sound of clinking metal above Alec, and a pair of leather boots came into Alec's eyeline.

"Who wishes to enter the Seelie Court?" asked a voice above Alec's head.

Alec wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and pushed his dripping hair away from his face. He sat back on his heels and addressed the Seelie knight that stood guard in front of him.

"Alexander Lightwood," Alec replied, voice still a little raspy from swallowing pond water. "Head of the New York Institute."

"Greetings, Alexander Lightwood. Are you here to request a meeting with the Seelie Queen?"

Remember to be polite, Alec thought to himself.

"No, I am not here on official Clave business to see her majesty. I'm here on a personal nature to speak with one of her servants, Meliorn."

There was a glint in the knight's eyes that put Alec on edge.

The knight nodded and waited for Alec to push himself to his feet before signalling him to follow after him. He led Alec down a path that ran through a forest canyon. Eventually the scenery around them changed from packed earthen walls to the open air pavilions, stone columns choked with ivy and bright flowering plants bracketing them on either side. The music and laughter grew louder as Alec was led further into the halls of Faerie. The knight pushed through a set of doors and before Alec knew it he was standing in a dance hall, full of fey dancing in circles. The pounding beat of the music, the sweet smell of spilled summer wine, and the glowing, dewy-eyed faces of the Seelie Court broke over Alec like a wave. He felt as if he'd been pulled underwater again, drowning in the exotic illusions of fey magic.

A beautiful woman twirled away from a dance circle and reached for him.

"Come dance with us!" she said with a laugh that was as light as champagne bubbles. Her hair fell in silver-white curls, framing her angular face and luminescent eyes.

Alec's gut tugged with a deep foreign sensation. With a start, he realised what it was... desire. It told him all he needed to know to see that he wasn't thinking clearly.

He stepped back and away from the woman and fumbled for the stele in his back pocket of his jeans, slashing a hasty rune onto the inside of his arm. Alec's senses came back to him all of once, the heady lull of the fey magic sliding off of him. He stared into the bottomless black eyes of the woman before him, she smiled at him with pointed teeth. Desire turned to dread and yet still Alec prefered it.

The knight was waiting for Alec at the door on the other end of the hall. He smiled maliciously at Alec, clearly uncaring if his guest lost his way in the halls of the Seelie Court and never found his way out again.

Alec shouldered around the fey woman and made his way towards the other end of the hall.

Behind him the woman shrieked, "Stay with us, Shadowhunter! Stay with us forever!"

Now that his eyes were fully open, the sights and sounds of the fair folk caused a chill to race down his spine like someone had dropped ice cubes down the back of his shirt. It was almost a relief when Alec walked into Meliorn's private rooms.

Almost.

The Seelie guard and the faeries before had been strangers, a test if anything. Meliorn knew him, knew facts about Alec's family and friends. He knew what Alec's weaknesses were. Now, was when Alec was in the most danger.

The sensation didn't dissipate when Meliorn turned towards him and Alec caught sight of his face. The scars that marred his golden skin were still hard for Alec to look at, crawling like vines from his hairline to the edge of his jaw in gruesome tendrils. The tattoo on his cheek was faded to gray. Alec swallowed and stepped back hesitantly.

Meliorn arched a brow. "Does my face shock you, Shadowhunter? It was the gift given to me by my queen for helping your friend, Clarissa Fairchild."

Alec had never gotten the chance to apologize for that. He didn't think Meliorn would have wanted him to make a spectacle of such an events by bringing it up during his meetings at the institute with the other members of the downworld.

"I'm—"

"Do not say what I think you're going to say, Shadowhunter!" Meliorn leveled a finger at him. "Do not insult me!"

Alec's words stuttered and changed in a heartbeat. "We never meant to cause you trouble with your queen, Meliorn."

"Nevermind, that." Though Meliorn's face had never been angry, per se, Alec could sense the sudden shift in his emotions as his voice moved from a tight hiss back to his normal smooth honeyed voice. It was the same voice that Magnus used late at night when he was tugging Alec to his bed by his belt loops.

He had a nagging suspicion that Meliorn might be trying to hit on him… the thought wasn't exactly surprising to Alec. He understood that faeries didn't think of love in the same way as Shadowhunters or Downworlders did. Gender and sexuality never seemed to matter. Love was a sport to them, and Alec didn't put it past Meliorn to make a game of trying to get Alec into his bed. It would be amusing to the faerie knight at the very least.

"What have you come here for, Shadowhunter?" Meliorn asked.

"I'm in need of information about a faerie whose associated with your queen. He said his name was Cillian."

"What kind of information do you seek?"

"I want to know what he wants and what he's doing following me."

Meliorn smiled, like all fey folk the idea of causing troubles in the mortal world amused and interested him. Alec wasn't sure if he was on his side at the moment, but it was a risk he would have to take.

"Why should I give you information about one of my own? Let alone the _Fear Dorcha_."

Alec nearly lost his breath. "The… The _Fear Dorcha_?"

"Ah, so you've heard the tales of mortals who come into contact with the Seelie Queen's chief agent of abduction." Meliorn made his way over to him, slipping past Alec to pull the gossamer curtains closed, lending them an air of thinly veiled privacy. Alec could sense him at his back when he returned. The fabric of Meliorn's shirt brushed against his shoulder with every breath he took. "As for what he wants with you… What are you going to trade me for the things I know?"

Alec didn't dare turn around. He could feel the heat of the other man's body through the wet clothes that hung off his form. The rune on his arm was still strong, but Alec didn't trust himself not to be tempted this close to a faery knight like Meliorn. "I can trade you information for information if that is what you—"

"No, Alexander. That is not what I wish." Meliorn's inhuman grip fastened onto Alec's arm and spun him around. Alec caught himself with a hand splayed against Meliorn's chest. The loose tunic that Meliorn wore was cut into a deep v and half of Alec's hand rested against his warm, golden skin.

Meliorn caught Alec's wrist as he tried to snatch his hand away.

"Do you want to know what I wish for, Alexander?"

Alec's response was automatic. "No."

He was standing close enough that Alec could detect the saccharine scent of summer wine on his breath. "Manners, Shadowhunter. There's no need to be rude."

Alec swallowed hard and forced himself to remain still as Meliorn traced the line of Alec's jaw with his finger. "You're a very beautiful boy, Alexander Lightwood. The oldest male child in your family, well-versed in combat and diplomacy, not to mention one of the shadowhunters that tried to bring me in for interrogation."

"I was just following orders."

Alec fixed his eyes below Meliorn's chin, determined not to let Meliorn's keen eyes see too much of what he was thinking. Alec watched the bob of the fey's adam's apple, it did not help clear his head.

"I would also be following orders if I brought you before the Seelie Queen. She would be very pleased at the sight of you. You'd make a fine member of our court."

Alec wretched free of his grip and backed away a few paces, needing the sense of safety that the distance gave him. "You'd sacrifice me to your queen just to get back in her good graces?"

Meliorn smiled. "It would not be without personal gain. The transformation would only enhance your mortal beauty, and you would remain in our realm stripped of the morals that bound you as a human."

Alec pressed a hand to his side where his parabatai rune was burned into his skin. Meliorn caught his movement. "That would also be lost. There are no equivalents to parabatai in the faery realm, but members of our court take many lovers."

It wasn't even close to the same kind of connection but there was no way Meliorn could know that without having a parabatai himself.

"You swore your allegiance to Shadowhunters just like all the other Downworlders. You can't force me to eat or drink anything without violating Clave law."

"Who said anything about forcing you, Alexander. You'd simply remain down here until you chose to take part in our revelries."

"I'm the head of the New York Institute. You can't just _keep_ me here—"

Meliorn chuckled.

Alec knew too much about the trickery of the fey folk and he knew that if Meliorn was unwilling to escort him back to the mortal realm than Alec was unlikely to ever leave here. He could try to make a run for it, but he was just as likely to be pulled into a dancing circle or some other revelry until he didn't care about escaping anymore.

He wanted to be relieved when Meliorn approached him slowly, hands spread wide at his sides in a gesture of peace, but he knew that any offer the faerie knight made to him now would be a double edged sword.

He wasn't wrong.

"I would be willing to settle for a much less costly outcome… a trade of another sort, much like the one your sister and I made when she first came to see me in Faerie. We had an understood relationship, you see, information for—"

"Yes, I'm quite aware of your relationship with my sister." Alec cut across him. He was trying very hard to keep the harsh edge out of his voice, and he didn't quite succeed. "I seem to recall a lot of faerie dust on her dresses afterwards."

Meliorn smiled at him from under his lashes. "There was faerie dust on far more than her dresses, if we are being honest with each other."

Alec licked his dry lips. "Okay, then, honestly, you don't interest me half as much as you think you do."

"If it is a matter of looks, go out and pick a fey that appeals to you. I have no qualms with sharing you for a night."

Alec's face must have spoken volumes, for Meliorn broke out laughing.

"No?" he asked.

Alec shook his head.

In reality, Alec saw a little too much of Magnus in Meliorn's face to feel anything but attraction to him… his lithe figure and amber skin, that easy laugh, a set of eyes that seemed as if they could see all of Alec at once. But Alec would never be able to feel at ease around Meliorn, always waiting to find the thorns hiding under the roses.

Meliorn smiled. "I'm feeling lenient, Alexander. Give me just one kiss and I'll tell you all you need to know and send you on your way safely home."

Alec pressed his lips together into a tight line but nodded all the same.

He crooked a finger at Meliorn. "Well, come closer."

Meliorn closed the distance between them, his hand falling to Alec's hip. This close the smell of summer wine filled Alec's senses completely. Alec caught Meliorn by the neck, feeling the faerie knight's quickening pulse thump under his palm. He slid his hand up to trace Meliorn's jaw up towards his ear, his fingers threading through Meliorn's long dark hair. He pressed against the back of Meliorn's head, drawing him in closer.

Meliorn's tongue passed quickly over his lips as his eves dropped to Alec's own.

Alec leaned in.

He angled his head for the perfect angle… and pressed the briefest of kisses to Meliorn's cheek.

He could hear Meliorn's startled intake of breath and leaned in closer to his ear with a smile. "You didn't _really_ think I was stupid enough to kiss a faerie on the lips did you? Besides, I have a warlock who I'm very devoted to."

He released Meliorn and took a few solid steps backwards.

Meliorn laughed and ran his thumb across his bottom lip.

"I have to give it to you, Alexander. You know how to play games of your own."

Alec crossed his arms over his chest. "The information that I was promised? Please feel free to speak bluntly. I'd prefer to leave here as soon as possible."

"My queen has plans to change your mind on that, Alexander Lightwood. As I've said before you'd make a prized possession for the Seelie court. Head of the New York Institute, lover of the most powerful warlock in New York City, first born son of an ancient shadowhunter family. Having you in our court would solidify our alliances to the downworld and nephilim alike."

Alec's eyes narrowed. "Nephilim taken by faeries, no matter which court is responsible, are abandoned by their families. Centuries of history have proven that trying to bring them back only results in more losses. If you took me it would do nothing to solidify your alliance with the shadowhunters."

"But I doubt it would be so easy for Magnus to leave you behind."

Alec sighed. "You still haven't told me what this has to do with Cillian? If the Queen sent him to abduct me, why did he let me go free?"

"If I know anything about Cillian, Alexander, it's that he likes to make things into a sport. If you ask me, abducting you would be too easy to be any fun. He's been doing that for centuries. It would be much more interesting if he could make you come to him on your own accord."

"Well that's very fucking unlikely to happen." Alec almost spat the words.

Except Alec was well aware of the powers of the fey. It wouldn't be the first time that a shadowhunter was lured into forsaking their runes for the immortality of the Seelie court.

Meliorn simply smiled and extended his hand. "Let me show you the way out."


End file.
